Bad Covers, Great Music: You Can't Tell a Disc By its Cover

Ted Nash's CD from 2012 "The Creep" (Plastic Sax Records 2012) brought this to mind, CDs that I have seen languish on the shelf at my local store with covers that do not suggest that they are full of serious music, let alone serious and great music.

I know Ted Nash. I have a number of his previous outings which are uniformly excellent -- they include "Portrait in Seven Shades" with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (JLC 2010), "The Mancini Project (Palmetto 2008),  and "In the Loop (Palmetto 2006).  Nash is a bop and post-bop tenor and alto saxophonist also comfortable in the more avant-garde world. From L.A., he was introduced to jazz by his namesake uncle, a player with Les Brown and Henry Mancini in the 40s, 50s and 60s, and his trombonist father Dick. By the time he reached 17, he had played lead alto for Quincy Jones' band and was performing regularly with the bands of  others like Louis Bellson and Don Ellis. By 18 he recorded his first date as a leader for Concord Jazz and since has had a long career as a leader and sideman.

Still, the goofy cover, even though I understand it as conciously ironic and referential to '50s comics and noire films, put me off for quite a while, and only when I started reading other reviews and seeing end of year lists did I finally pick this up, and of course am now glad that I did. This is a CD full of great music and great playing, by Nash on saxes and his sidemen -- Ron Horton on trumpet, Paul Sikivie on bass, and Ulysses Owen on drums (Owens himself produced an outstanding CD as leader last year, "Unanimous" (Criss Cross 2012)).

This is sort of a mix of modern-bop and free-jazz but  tightly controlled and structured. The two leads on trumpet and sax have lots of room for improvisation, for wending their way around each other and generally keeping the energy flowing at a high level, with great rhythmic support by Sikivie and Owens.  Seven Nash originals are joined by an Ornette tune "Kaleidoscope" and a Sherman Irby tune "Twilight Sounds" and feature these trade-offs between unison play, counterpoint, and free play, but the music never goes out of control for these ears. There is much bop here, some West Coast sounds, some noirish themes, and overall just great play.

The Red Mitchell Trio "One Long String" (Mercury 1969) may have looked normal in 1969 when it was issued -- heck I had a Studebaker plastered with flower decals like those on the cover -- but as a reissue it just looks weird. And yet look at the players. Mitchell was a first rate, in-demand bassist who played alongside Ornette Coleman, Harold Land, Dizzy Gillespie, Phil Woods and on and on with a huge discography as sideman and leader, recognized for his large woody sound, creativity, and writing. He was 42 at the time of this recording and in the prime of his career. Bobo Stenson had yet to make an international name for himself and was still two years away from his first recording as leader, but already was a remarkably limber pianist. Drummer Rune Carlsson was a fixture on the Scandanavian scene who would go onto a long career backing Stenson and others in Europe as well as visiting Americans like Bill Evans and Ben Webster. Mitchell had moved to Sweden at the time of this recording, which is a very open, modern bop effort with a great deal of energy provided from his bass and the drumming of Carlsson. Stenson gets a chance to really open up on some soulful, energetic and wholly exciting tunes, mostly by Nash but also one by Stenson as well as the standard "Stella by Starlight." Close your eyes if you must but seek this one out and enjoy.

The first two CDs herein were by established, recognized players, maybe not of the highest profile but still recognizable names. What happens when a relative unknown produces a marvelous CD with a whacky cover? That is what we have with Igor Butman's "Magic Land" (Sony 2007). Butman is on the cover with his ear over the bell of his saxophone, with the title splashed in multi-colors. It does not scream serious music -- it screams goofy -- and does not invite one to pick it up -- who is this anyway? Is he for real? But if you do pick it up and flip it over, here is what you get: a band that inlcudes Randy Brecker, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Stefon Harris, and John Patitucci. Now are you interested?

Yes, this is one of those CDs where you need to look past the leader to the sidemen, and oh what sidemen. Does anyone believe that they would be playing behind a no-talent sax player? So who is Igor Butman?

Born in Leningrad in 1961, Butman was provided with a musical education from an early age, first on piano and then at age 11 on clarinet. He studied at top institutes in Russia, and then played in several major Russian bands. He picked up the tenor saxophone along the way for the charts in one of these bands, and never looked back. Butman, who had taught himself English, played with Gary Burton’s band during its 1982 tour with Chick Corea. In 1987 he came to Berklee and afterwards, with degrees as concert saxophonist and as composer, Butman went to New York where he played with Billy Taylor and Grover Washington Jr. first and later with Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton and Pat Metheny. He also formed bands for tours at home with John Abercrombie, Cindy Blackman, Joe Locke, and Adam Nussbaum. In 1998, Butman was guest soloist with Wynton Marsalis’ Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. He owns a club in Moscow and has brought jazz to Russia; in addition to his jazz, Butman has played and recorded with classical violinist Yuri Bashmet and his Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra. He currently continues to play and also now produces jazz recordings for his own recording label.

This is a very nice album, not earth-shaking or amazingly innovative, but a very solid outing featuring a mix of songs that include some Carribean influenced phythms and harmonies, some ballads, some bop, and some lullabyes. Brecker is a standout on the CD, and Harris' vibraphone adds a flair on those Carribean sounds, and Butman has a smooth tone and plays some lovely melodies particularly on the slower tunes. The band impresses throughout.

Got any other funky covers to share that hide solid outings? Let me know.

Get to Know: Luis Perdomo

Luis Perdomo is a personal favorite of mine, and his two new discs "Universal Mind" (RKM Music 2012)and "The 'Infancia' Project" (Criss Cross) 2012) just further establish him as a pianist, band leader, and composer to be reckoned with. These two discs build upon his outings as a leader, found on "Pathways" (Criss Cross 2008), "Awareness" (RKM Music 2006) and "Focus Point" (RKM Music 2005). His long list of outings as a sideman includes work with Ravi Coltrane, Miguel Zenon, Steve Turre, Ben Wolfe, Dafnis Prieto, Yosvany Terry, Brian Lynch, and Diego Urcola, among many others. I list these because in each case I have on or more of those outings as well as all of Perdomo's, and in all cases his expressive piano work, his touch and his feel for the music stands out.


"The 'Infancia' Project" (Criss Cross 2012)

Though Perdomo is from Venezuela his jazz is by no means limited in scope to the genre "latin jazz." In fact, he makes that clear in his liner notes to "The 'Infancia' Project" as follows : [This] is a CD that I had avoided to record for the last 22 years...I always avoided producer' ideas that will end up categorizing me in a certain particular genre, which shall remain unnamed, but based on my background you can figure it out." It is only now after having established himself in the jazz world that he has returned to this music, which brings to the CD the "sounds that I heard as a child growing up in Caracas." Now that he has established his confidence in his playing and his position in the jazz community, it was time to stop denying himself the pleasure of these songs, and to stop denying us of them as well, for the "Infancia Project" is a great CD. 

Perdomo has a terrific cast supporting him, Mark Shim on tenor sax, Andy Gonzalez on bass, Ignacio Berroa on drums, and Mauricio Herrara on percussion. The songs are the songs of his youth and of his father's record collection, coupled with four original compositions. Based on the song selection, his father had quite a collection of recordings, as the music features songs by Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Bud Powell, and Jack DeJohnette, with only "Comedia" by J.A. Espino being a truly "latin" composition.

Perdomo strikes gold from his own opener, "The Other Left", right through to Jack DeJohnette's "Major General." From the opening piano chords and melody, followed by the entry of the percussion, one immediately knows this will be a lively ride. Shim's tenor excels on the opening piece, and drive underneath between Gonzales, Berroa, and Herrera light a fire under his and Perdomo's lively melodies and improvisations. The group settles in on "Berimvela", another Perdomo piece, with a lovely and lilting mid-tempo melody. The piece opens with the soft round tomes of Shim's sax, backed by some lovely percussive beats. Perdomo plays next on the Fender Rhodes, adding bell like tones to those of Herrera's. What follows next is a highlight performance of Mile's "Solar" started by the synchronized play of the piano and sax, underneath which is a lively percussion section and eventually a standout bass solo with some piano comping and color from the drums. Shim plays an outstanding tenor in the center of the piece. This is a lively latin take on a classic song and a real tour de force for Perdomo's creative arranging.  "Happy House" by Ornette Coleman follows and takes the band to the edge, and then Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco" is introduced by a strong bass solo by Gonzalez. Perdomo's arrangement then brings in some driving percussion bars, followed by the piano and tenor in unison. "Meggido Girl" is a beautiful ballad piece introduced with some incredibly passionate, legato piano play, backed by only some brushes and light taps of the cymbals. Perdomo has written something timeless in this ballad. The closing tune by DeJohnette sums it all up well -- lively latin beat, some nice tenor work, but nost of all some outstanding, expressive piano play by Perdomo.

Criss Cross puts out some great music regularly, and this is a great addition to their label. Perdomo has written some great tunes and arranaged some others, and gives a great deal of latitude to his band and particularly Mark Shim, who stands out on many of the pieces.


"Universal Mind" (RKM Records 2012)


Universal Mind is Perdomo's  fourth release as a leader, in a trio with bassist Drew Gress and drummer LAck DeJohnette, who is having a marvelous 70th birthday year, as exhibited on this and several other 2012 reeleases. Perdomo has a bond with Gress established playing with Ravi Coltrane, and with DeJohnette the two really push this disc to great heights of powerful and beautiful improvisations. Peredomo wrote 8 of the 11 songs, DeJohnette shines with the up-tempo "Rebellious Contemplation," but is also at home with the more open imrovisations of "Unified Path I" and "Unified Path II".  Perdomo is clearly the leader at all times with his melodic sensibiloities, touch, and creativity, with an especially beautiful outing on "Dance of the Elephants." Perdomo is a wonderful improvisor who represents the most creative edge of mainstream jazz. Of the album, Perdomo says “There were no rehearsals. When we got to the studio, we basically started rolling. From the beginning there was a hook-up. It might have been from all the years I’ve been listening to Jack.” No overdubs, no rehearsals, just great music. “The way that you hear it on the record is the way that it was recorded,” says Perdomo. “There are no overdubs; there are no fixings of anything. Everything is just as is."

Perfect. Get it. Listen. Enjoy.